Persie closed her eyes and groaned with frustration as she tried valiantly to read the book on the desk before her. She had to actively concentrate to hold herself still and quench the urge to twitch or just throw caution to the winds and punch something. The tension within her was building the more she tried to read the book. And the more she tried to read the book, the more the letters seemed to float and spin off the page. And the more the letters moved the more she wanted to fucking hit someth-

"Hi there! Bad day?" a bright voice interrupted her internal fury and she let out a little scream as she jumped, fist swinging wildly and stared up at the person in front of her. There was a boy about her age, nineteen or twenty with the reddest hair she had ever seen splayed around his head making him look a little like he had been electrocuted. He had astonishingly bright green eyes in a boyishly handsome face. He was tall and lean and the bright smile on his face gave him an innocent air despite the subtle hints of a warrior she could see in his stance in reaction to her swing. "I'm Wally. Wally West." he continued, holding out a hand.

She found herself smiling back at him, his own smile proving somewhat contagious. "Persie Jackson." she replied taking the hand and shaking it, feeling the held-back strength in the grip. From the slight narrowing of his eyes she knew he suspected something about her too.

"Percy?" he asked once they pulled their hands back. "Like Perseus? Percival?" his smile turned mischievous and she readied herself for the inevitable teasing.

"No." she sighed, gathering her books and slinging her bag over one shoulder, feeling he comforting weight bump against the pen that was safely in her pocket. "It's short for Persephone."

He paused and tilted his head, examining her with a gaze so intense it made her blush. "It suits you. It's pretty." he murmured and then seemed to realise what he just said and flushed. "Anyway. I was just gonna grab a coffee, take a break from the books. You wanna come with?"

She considered him for a moment and then shrugged. What the hell, you only live once and she wasn't about to deny that Wally West was a very handsome man. "Yeah. Yeah ok."

oOo

He led her to a café just off the college grounds and grinned when she ordered a triple shot espresso. She probably shouldn't. Caffeine didn't really react well with her. He himself ordered a tall iced coffee and four donuts for himself. She eyed him oddly as they sat down and he grinned, unabashed. "Fast metabolism." he shrugged. "Runs in the family." he sniggered slightly as if he had just made a particularly hilarious joke but she only raised an eyebrow in response. "Anyway." he coughed awkwardly as their drinks arrived and his plate of donuts. "What did the book do to you to make you hate it so much? If looks could kill, I tell you."

She looked down into the white froth of her drink, not meeting his eyes. "It was...annoying me." she said eventually.

"I know the feeling." he said with a small sigh, taking a big gulp of his drink. "I'm studying to be a forensic scientist, like my uncle."

"Why?" she asked. "I mean, don't you want to do something different?"

Wally tilted his head thoughtfully but eventually shook his head. "No, not really. My Aunt and

Uncle were a huge part of my life and I've always loved science and being able to help people like that...yeah, I really want to be a forensic scientist. What about you? What do you want to do?"

"I'm studying to be a marine biologist. I want to care for marine animals in captivity." Wally nodded. "You good with fish?"

Persie smiled over the rim of her cup and nodded. "Yeah. I've always been...good with aquatic animals. I want to make their time in captivity comfortable. I didn't want them to suffer."

"I've got a good friend I think you'd get along with." Wally said, looking up at her. "Yeah? I used to know a few people you'd like."

"Used to?"

Persie stiffened, looking away. "We...drifted apart."

"I'm sorry." Wally murmured. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Its ok." Persie said with a smile. "It was a long time ago." she chewed idly and Wally looked suddenly down at his plate to see his last donut missing.

"Hey!" Wally whined. "You took my donut."

She grinned at him and lifted her mug in a mock salute. "You already had three."

Wally pouted at her and she laughed. "I've got to go." Wally said regretfully after a few minutes of comfortable silence and she nodded. "I promised I'd babysit my cousins."

"That's alright, Wally." she said with a gentle smile. "Thank you for this. Really. It's been a long time since I've had a friend." she froze, a blush staining her cheeks. "I-I mean."

"Nah, it's ok." Wally interrupted, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Would you like to go out with me again sometime?" she smirked.

"What's in it for me?"

He leaned in slightly and matched her smirk. "What else but my amazing company?"

Persie laughed but nodded and he pulled out his phone. "Can I have your number?"

"You can." Persie said, huffing a laugh at his obvious discomfort. She rattled off her number whilst fishing her own mobile out of her pocket to type in his.

Wally beamed at her despite the blush on his cheeks and put his phone back in his pocket. "I'll give you a call then."

"I look forward to it." she replied. "Don't you have to go?" she added after watching him stand beside the table with a goofy grin on his face.

He snapped out of his daze, his blush darkening and he nodded. "See you later." he said quickly before almost running out of the café.

Persie laughed and found herself lighter than usual. Maybe this was a sign. She was finally moving on and managing to leave the past behind her.

She remained in the café for two more hours, working slowly through her text book and painstakingly making notes until she had worked through three more chapters. It was with a great sense of accomplishment that she placed her books in her bag and called a cab to drive her to the apartment where she and her stepfather Paul had lived ever since her mother's death. When Persie managed to find the right keys to the apartment she opened the door and dumped her books on the bench. "Paul?" she called. "You home?"

"In the lounge, Perse." Paul replied.

A year and a half after the Battle of Manhattan Sally Jackson was killed in a car crash. A car ahead blew a tire, skidding uncontrollably on the wet road and smashed into a car in the opposite line. It resulted in a five car pile-up and four fatalities, including Sally. Paul and Persie had been devastated and while Paul managed to hobble through day-to-say life, Persie retreated. She refused to speak for two weeks and when she did it was short and infrequent. She pulled away from her friends at Camp and when things came to a head, well, needless to say she had no trouble leaving the people who had so easily left her to wallow and fester in her grief. In her will, Sally had asked that Paul look after Persie and Paul had had no trouble with that and Persie was fine with living with the man who had been the biggest father figure in her life.

"Hey, kiddo." Paul greeted her with a small smile, looking up from the piles of essays he was marking. "Good day?"

Persie sank onto the couch beside him and kissed his cheek before sinking back into the lounge, leaning against the arm. "It was ok." she began. "And then it got better."

Paul looked up at her curiously and gave her a look that clearly asked her to explain. "It was a pretty crappy day. I was late to a lecture and then I ran into that group of girls who hate me again. I swear this is no different to high school." she ranted.

Paul gave her another look and she coughed awkwardly. "I was studying in the library and my dyslexia was acting up more than usual so I was getting pretty frustrated and then this guy asked me if I wanted a break and he took me out to coffee and then asked me out again."

"Hmm." Paul gave her a small, secretive smile. "So, what's his name?""Wally West."

Paul blinked. "Is he related to Iris Allen, the reporter? I believe West was her maiden name."

"I dunno." Persie replied. "How do you know her?"

"We were in college together. Some of the same classes. Nice girl." Paul nodded. "Met her boyfriend once. I think he may have been called Allen."

"I'll ask him." Persie promised. "He reminds me of Apollo's kids." "Will that be a problem?" Paul asked in concern.

"No. No it won't. I like him, he's a nice guy." she smiled with a small blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Look, I know you can handle yourself, Persie." Paul said, patting her hand gently. "But just watch out for yourself ok? I don't wanna see you hurt that bad again."

She sobered at the mention of her past but she nodded. "Yeah, I'll be careful, Paul. I promise."

"Thanks, Perse." Paul said with a small sigh of relief. "You want to help?" he asked playfully gesturing at the papers on the table in front of him.

Persie snorted. "I'll pass thanks." Paul chuckled as she stood, wincing as she stretched and her back cracked audibly. "I'll get started on dinner."

"Thank you, Persie."